Title

Authors

Kenneth R. McCracken '20, Gettysburg College

Document Type

Student Research Paper

Date of Creation

Fall 2017

Department

History

Abstract

The legend of the Wehrmacht’s “clean hands” was created with the Himmerdoer Memorandum of 1950 and sought to disassociate the German military with its Nazi past. The legend gained popularity in the minds of the German people and successfully led to Germany’s rearmament after World War Two. Beginning in 1990, the legend was destroyed as the actions of the Wehrmacht during World War Two created a different picture than that of the legend. The Wehrmacht’s hands were far from “clean” and instead were very dirty.

Comments

Written for HIST 218: Modern Germany.

Copyright Note

This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.

Recommended Citation

McCracken, Kenneth R., "The Legend of the Wehrmacht’s “Clean Hands”: The Attempt to Remove Nazism from the German Military" (2017). Student Publications. 570.
http://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/570